Unexpected
by wolfgirlalways
Summary: Reid comes back to his apartment to find an unexpected visitor alrady present. co written wit Gacktlover
1. prologue

_Unexpected_

**By **

**Wolfgirlalways **

**&**

**Gacktlover**

_a/n We do own all the seasons of Criminal minds…..(on DVD) See we do own it. _

Reid unlocked his door and stepped into his apartment dropping his keys on the stand. The hairs on the back on his neck prickled.

He spun around to face the shadow cloaked stranger sitting in his chair.

His mind sprinted to Hotch and his masked shooter. He had just been to the hospital and visited his wounded leader. He was still quite shaken. He reached for his gun.

"you really need to get a better lock in this neighborhood kid. I cracked that one in about ten seconds." Reid's mind rushed to all the advice and night's spent sitting awake talking.

"why did you come here?"

"did you want me to leave?"

"no it's just…..a surprise."

"and here I thought nothing could surprise you."

The two shared a laugh as they had not in years. Reid's mind jumped from the surprise of seeing his old friend to the reasons of the parting. He decided he would not mar the joy of reunion with the things best left in the past. They had both been hurt emotionally broken. Neither one, at the time of separation, been able to deal with their own problems.

They sat awkwardly neither able to think of what to say.

"why did you break in? you had a key."

_a/n really short and sweet. But we would like to put out a completion. We want you to try to guess who the intruder is. The first person to guess right will get a shout out in one of our chapter and to be a character in our story._


	2. lost the key

"if I told you I lost the key?" the intruder asked sitting and staring hard at the table between them.

"I wouldn't believe it. You aren't the type." Reid studied the table as well. They both avoided looking at each other.

"So anything new?"

"Why would you ask that? I know you have kept tabs on me."

"how is your problem coming along. Someone told me you had it rough."

"two years in a week but when cases get tough it almost unbearable."

The intruder nodded acknowledgment. "I know you could do it kid. You just had to learn to think outside the box."

The awkwardness subsided when Reid's phone rang. He scanned the caller id. "work", he mouthed to his unexpected visitor. Then silenced the ringer.

The intruder's eyebrows rose.

"some things are worth a missed day of work. Besides I have all those vacation days worked up. It's time I took one." He put his hands on the table and again studied it.

"I know how their is. All those years and not taking your days.. It can wear you down til you just cant be yourself anymore. Besides this has been a long time coming."


	3. checkmate

_a/n congratulations to jiskah for guessing Jason Gideon first._

Reid looked carefully at the chess set between his opponent and him. Jason was smiling confidently as he knew a move or two more and he would win. They had clicked on the table side lamp and Reid had poured them both a drink. Ice clinked as Reid lifted his to his mouth his eyes carefully going over each pieces position.

"going to move kid?" Reid smiled into his glass.

"I'm building suspense. It's statistically proven that people under stress make more mistakes."

Gideon let loose a soft chuckle. "still into those statistics?"

"it's what the team keeps me around for."

"Your selling yourself sh…."

"check mate."

"wha…. That isn't possible. How did that happen?"

"while you were distracted by my hands and my talking I moved your king." Reid smiled brightly and went to refill the glasses. "and you taught me how." he added.

"oh did I now."

"you told me to learn the game and think outside the box."

"that I did. but i'm not sure i meant it that way. so how is the team?"

"ok…well Hotch is improving slowly."

"Hotch?" Gideon questioned his tone sharp and distracted.

"I…. I thought he was why you came back. You Don't know?"

"know what Reid?"

"he was shot. He has been in intensive care for a couple weeks."

"That is not why I returned." he said apologetically.

"Then why did you return?" Reid said apprehensively.

"For two reasons. The first is I do not like breaking promises and leaving this unfinished. A few years ago I did. And the second I need the teams help."

"With what?"

"It can wait. I need to see Hotch. Everything else does not matter right now."

"visiting hours are over now it will have to wait until morning either way. The team has probably already left for whatever case they wanted me for lat night. I'll call JJ. I can take you tomorrow morning. You can take the spare bedroom for now." Reid showed him the room and dropped off into his own bed his mind refusing to sleep. He lay in bad for a long time his mind racing.

He woke up confused. A shower was running gin his apartment. It took him a while to recall last nights events. Getting up he went into his own bathroom to prepare for the day. To his relief his houseguest had already started the coffee. Helping himself to a cup he sat in a chair and waited. The chess board form last night was still up. He found himself going over the game and strategizing to pass the time.

Finally a clean Gideon walked out his hair slightly damp.

"Ready kid?"

"whenever you are." he grabbed his keys and headed out.

"where is your car?" Reid asked ever the profiler and analyzing.

"I flew in and then called a cab. I don't drive much."

They fell silent as Reid drew puzzles in his head.

"How is the team?"

"they have been better. JJ has a kid now. With that detective friend."

"good for her."

"Penelope is doing fine after that whole mess was cleared up."

"What mess?"

"she was shot."

"I leave this team for a while and everyone up and gets shot." Gideon said sullenly glaring outside the window. Angry that he could not protect the team he still thought of as his own.

"Prentiss is fine… Morgan is Morgan."

Reid pulled into the hospital parking lot and killed his engine.

"Ready?" Reid asked.

"Gideon?" Morgan asked. He had just been leaving Hotch's room

"Morgan it's been a while."

"You don't say?" he answered, not sure what to think yet.

"Let me go in and talk to him first." Reid said motionign for Gideon to stay

Reid left Gideon standing in the hall looking out of place.

"I found him the next morning asleep at the office. He waited all night." a voice behind him startled him. He turned to see JJ holding a squirming child.

"what?"

"he waited for you all night. I know you had issues but he trusted you. I just wanted you to know."

"how has he been?"

"he has been through hell. He is tough though. A while I thought Morgan would kill him. He got infected with anthrax and wouldn't stop searching to go to the hospital. He found it though."

"what hasn't this team been through since I left?"

"Nothing sir. Hold him I need to go check with the doctors."

He was amazed when the baby was thrust into his arms. Trustingly the baby smiled up at him. For a minute the whole world felt ok.

"here I'll hold him you go ahead and talk."

Reid reached out and took hold of the child.

"for some reason I almost never get to hold him."

Hotch was startling. Pale and almost tiny in the bed with wires and tubes attached.

"you could have said good-bye." Hotch sounded short of breathe and tired. But he's eyes stared almost accusingly. "I would have understood."

"I couldn't think."

"that's obvious."

"I'm sorry."

"I know." Hotch relaxed.

"who is heading the team while you are here?"

"Rossi."

"he's back?" Gideon was surprised.

"yes. He came back when you left. To help out."

"I can say I never saw that coming."

"what did you come for. I know it wasn't me."

"I needed help. I hoped you might forgive me long enough to do me a favor."

"like I said we all understood. For most if not all of us your forgiven already."

"so this is why you didn't answer your phone?" JJ asked.

"something are worth mising work for. didn't you guys get a case?"

"no just some questions i had about the last one."

"i'm sorry."

"like you said soem things are worth it." she said sagely before taking the baby back and holding him close.

_a/n we would like to apologize to anyone that assumed we were holding threats, what we meant was the chapters were short because ideas about what hints to give were hard. We wanted to give the readers as much time to come up with the answer as possible without giving to much away. We are sorry if the note offended anyone._


	4. what did you need?

"so Gideon what did you want?" Reid asked from where he leaned by the door. Morgan sat lounging in a chair next to Hotch. Emily stood her arms crossed in the back of the room. Gideon sat in the chair on the other side and Rossi paced. JJ leaned against the counter. And Hotch lay propped up in the bed. They all looked expectedly at Gideon. He pulled out a couple case files and spread them around the team.

"I haven't officially looked through a case since I left. But this was close to home and I followed it loosely, and a month ago the cops officially closed the case and arrested the suspect."

"so what did you need from us? It's closed right?" JJ questioned. She had left her child with her husband outside in the hallway.

"maybe it's just an old mind I just wanted you to look it over."

The team fell silent each studying. Reid of course finished first his brow wrinkled. He re-read it as the others finished.

"the profile says not even close."

"even the facts say no. there is no evidence. None of it adds up." Morgan said.

Almost as on cue Morgan's phone rang.

He pulled it open "Hey baby girl."

"Is it true? Is Gideon back?"

"how do you know these things?" Morgan asked awe present in his voice.

She proceeded to berate him for not telling her the second he saw Gideon. Morgan meekly took it.

"Are they together yet. Or are they both in denial still."

"it's not denial they have admitted it. But still not together no." Reid answered.

"thought not. They are to playful for dating and not angry enough for broken up."

Reid, for once ignorant, wisely kept his mouth shout.

"hey baby girl? I'm sorry. Now I need your all knowing expertise. I need an official case file cuz the one I'm looking at looks faked."

"not a problem." Morgan heard keys clicking. "whenever you are ready."

"Harry Miller."

"alright I'll ring in a jiffy."

"thanks."

The team looked around at each other and back to the fake files.

Morgan's phone finally rang after an eternity.

"this file has all sorts of little nasties attached. Someone didn't want anyone snooping. All different high profile fingerprints. Like everyone n power is in on it. But the I could find was all wrong. Nothing to support no witness reports no physical evidence. Nothing. Like it never happened. And the people involved? Only a few of those even exist before this. Like a week before the crime they just appear. Credit cards, bills and any mail of any sort all begin on the same day. July 1st one week before the murder. And it all stops the day after. The mother father and two friends are all the same way. Also his life insurance was set up the hour before like he knew it was coming. But the person murdered, he grew up in the town. Went to high school bought a house. Spent money everything's normal for him. Until he ended up dead that is. "

"and the beneficiary?"

"a local scholarship committee."

"alright Reid I want you and Morgan to unofficially snoop. The case is closed remember. The rest I want to look on it from the office. Gideon go or stay I can't decide."

"I'll ride with Morgan and Reid."

"Right." Reid nodded and gathered up the file.

"I love road trips." he nearly gushed. "I just got this recording of.."

"leave it." Morgan ordered. "no way is it coming along. That last one nearly put me to sleep at the wheel. On and on and nothing happened."

"b…"

"NO."

Reid looking beaten sulked out of the room followed by a stern Morgan and an emotionless Gideon.

"are they going to come back alive?" JJ asked the team grinning.

All the others looked doubtful.

a_/n yay for road trips. Speaking of which Gactklover is taking a fourteen hour drive away with no comp. we will update as close to her return as possible. Or maybe she will steal a family members internet and it will be up sooner…… I will type more but she has to approve it before posting._


	5. Atom

"pull off here." Reid announce out of no where.

"what?" Morgan demanded as he pulled off the highway.

Reid pointed to a small diner. "I'm starved c'mon."

"we have somewhere to be." Morgan reminded him.

"we're not officially on the case and I am starving it'll take a half hour tops. Besides it statistically proven that people who aren't starving do better at their jobs."

"I think some days he just makes this crap up knowing that know one on this team can prove him wrong." Morgan told Gideon as he parked the car and stepped out. Reid, somewhat smug followed.

"that would be taking advantage of you." Reid denied. "and don't tell me your not hungry."

"not denying it. Come on breakfast is on you." Reid followed protesting. In the end Gideon ended up paying.

"Anthrax Reid?" Gideon asked out of the blue. "DO you honestly have no sense of self preservation?"

"I found the cure." Reid defended looking up from the impossibly thick book he had been pouring over

"So I see. But did it occur to you that going into the mad scientist's lab was a bad idea?"

Reid shrugged.

"So what have you been doing?" Morgan asked cutting off Gideon's reply in a small attempt to keep the peace.

"A little bit of everything. Enjoying retirement."

"Tha…" he was interrupted by Reid's phone ringing.

"Reid." he answered.

"Hey Reid it's Garcia."

"why didn't you call Morgan?"

"he is driving." Garcia stated

"I can drive too you know. What makes you assume he is driving?"

"I'm all knowing. I wanted to check up on you. Your GPS location puts you further away than I thought you would be."

"Garcia hacking into the governments GPS is illegal." Reid sated.

"I work for the FBI. And I always try to keep an eye on my team. Someone has to keep you safe and make sure you get home in one piece since I can't be there personally."

"What have you got for us." Reid asked putting the phone on speaker.

"I found only one major company linked to any of the mess of programs around this guy. It was fairly well hidden and disguised but the name is Atom. It's a small computer company worth a couple million dollars. Surprisingly it's based right here. JJ and Emily went to sniff around., it appears they do government contracts. It's owned by a brilliant lady, a Miss Jacky Rider. She appears to be clean and the only connection was a monthly deposit into an anonymous account at the local bank that is also somehow tied to the same scholarship committee."

"Alright we'll make sure to talk to the bank management. Hey Garcia did you find anything about the guy they arrested?" Morgan asked."Just a sec." the clicking of keys was heard.

"his name was Cark Miller. He had just moved into town with his wife of three months Lexi. He worked as at the local fire department and she did nothing as far as I can tell. The report says no job. Witness reports say they never would have suspected him. They were both sweet and well mannered."

"where is she now?"

"it says still living in there house they bought. Still no job I'm running checks on there personal history now."

"and Garcia."

"yes." "we stopped for breakfast." Morgan said hanging up the phone.

They road in silence for a while longer

"Reid. Everyone knows you can drive. It's what keeps us up at night quaking in fear." Morgan grinned as Reid pointedly ignored him and stuck his nose back into the book.

_a/n ok so that took a lot longer than it should have but maybe the next chapter will be up sooner. And will be longer. Ignores the events of the fifth season because it was started before the season began. But on the bright side I finally have the plot in mind of the case so idea's are coming. Thanks for reading ;)_


End file.
